Sometimes you have yourself a weekend that feels nearly perfect. The kind of weekend that feels like each moment was spent doing something in service yourself, your loved one, and your mental health. A true escape from the work week and it feels as if nothing was wasted. Nothing expensive broke, nobody was hurt, no illnesses, and everyone you decided to spend it with seems equally content and engaged.
That was this past weekend for us.
Not going to lie, this summer has been pretty much chockful of anti-goodness. What should have been good weekends were bizarro weekends; they looked and felt like weekends but were off versions. Between health issues with our daughter, allergy issues with us, and what seemed like a months worth of moving kids from out of the house and then back into the house, most of the weekends from beginning of July to the beginning of September were spent in constant motion and the unknown.
Even after all of that there was a broken pressure tank that needed replaced, a $300 piece that needed replaced on our air conditioner, and there’s still something with one of the headlights on my wife’s car that needs looked at. There’s also a $1000 crown repair as well as a $700 duct cleaning that will probably get pushed to 2026(we had them cleaned out just 5 years ago…which was the first time since the house was built in 1996!)
So excuse me for the laundry list of complaints above. While not a completely awful summer, it hasn’t been all the great either.
With the health of our kiddo back in good standing since late July and her moving back home with her dog Celeste, the weekends have been much better. We still had a couple bouts of stomach flu to contend with over a couple weekends, but that’s better than hospital stays and expensive repairs. This past weekend felt like a makeup weekend for all the crappy ones we’ve had.
Saturday morning my wife wanted to go over to Goshen and hit the thrift shop. I had a $60 credit at Ignition Music, and we both thought getting lunch at Goshen Brewing sounded great. So we got around, took the dog on one more walk, then hit the road.
We got to the thrift store with about 45 minutes to spare. It was a successful trip, as we found a used Varidesk(a stand-up desk platform that sits on top of your regular desk.) My wife had been looking for one for their office at the non-profit she manages. They’re around $250 and up. Kind of pricey for a non-profit. But this one was marked $40, and not only that it was half off. Big win for the non-profit. She also found some jeans and a matching sweatshirt and sweatpants. I found a best of Freddy Fender CD.
Afterwards we got lunch at Goshen Brewing. We were hoping to get their excellent bruschetta, but alas tomato season has ended at Goshen Brewing. So instead I got a chicken sandwich with fries and my wife got a watermelon and feta salad. Both were fantastic, with that watermelon salad being the big surprise. Of course we had some craft root beer and that was amazing.
We left Goshen Brewing and went to check out a pottery store. They had some amazing vases, but my wife ended up with a tea mug that she loves. We went back to the car and headed over to Ignition Music.
Just the day before I was listening to Spotify on the TV while I was cleaning the house and was listening to Leon Russell. Right after Russell’s “Tightrope” played, J. J. Cale’s “Crazy Mama” came on. Now, I’d of course heard of J. J. Cale, but I’d never listened to him. I’d recently heard his version of “Call Me The Breeze” on the excellent new show The Lowdown and was floored. I’d take his version over Lynyrd Skynyrd’s any day of the week. So after hearing “Call Me The Breeze” and then his song “Crazy Mama” I was interested in getting his first album Naturally. I didn’t have much hope in finding it but looked anyways. What do you know, Ignition had a beat up used copy for $10. I snagged that up, along with Little Feat’s Dixie Chicken and Yes’ Going For The One. It was an excellent record store trip.
Before we left town my wife suggested some ice cream from The Chief. Couldn’t pass that up. I got a strawberry shake, while she got a sundae. I drove home so she could eat her ice cream on the road.
When we got back into town we stopped at the store for some much needed allergy meds, then we hit Karma Records. I grabbed Jeff Tweedy’s new triple album Twilight Override, which I dropped a review of yesterday. It’s a great album, and quite the chunk of music(nearly 2 hours worth.) Give it a listen if you haven’t.
That night we had chicken taquitos and spun records for a couple hours. Our daughter suggested we restart Yellowjackets so we watched that while we ate. She fell asleep before the first episode was done.
Sunday was sunny and warm, the perfect morning for a dog walk. My wife had a spa appointment, so she was gone for most of the day. I mowed the front and backyard, then came in and watched the newest episode of Peacemaker. After that I finally watched Superman. Really enjoyed that one.
What can I say? I’m a pretty simple guy. For a weekend to be a great one I just need a little record hunting, thrift store wandering, a great meal and some ice cream with my favorite gal. As we were driving over to Goshen Saturday morning I told my wife that I never really realized what an anxious, worried mess I’d been until everything had finally settled with our daughter’s health issues and she was living back at home with us full time. She’d been struggling mentally and emotionally for two years, ever since things went south with her ex-POS boyfriend. Then taking on a dog with her own closetful of trauma to work through and deal with. It was a real struggle for her just to get through the week without some sort of life calamity.
And as a parent that is wired to worry anyways, that situation was extremely hard on my head and heart. Now, with her home and having her own space downstairs she is finally in a really good place. We don’t have to call her and wake her up to make sure she’s not late for work. She’s getting up on her own here. And one of the biggest things I worried about was having her dog Celeste here and how she would handle being home alone while we’re all at work. Celeste would go to the bathroom in our daughter’s apartment, we weren’t sure if it was out of acting out or because our kiddo wouldn’t give herself enough time to take care of her before she left for work in the mornings.
I’m happy to say Celeste has been wonderful here. She’s not had a single accident, even going 7 hours one day at home by herself. Between my wife and daughter they both walk her in the mornings and she’s good till I get home in the afternoon. She seems to feel at home now. She knows she’s safe here. She’s not alone. And that goes for both Celeste and our daughter.
The changes over the last couple months have finally settled, and we’ve found our new norm at the house. This past weekend felt like the turning of a new leaf. I’m hoping that’s a trend that continues.
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